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Q. and A. with C. Trent Rosecrans

It's mostly about the news business, but here's a baseball-related excerpt:

Where do you stand in the debate over old-school scouting and sabermetrics?

I believe there's a happy medium somewhere, but I lean heavily toward the numbers guys in most arguments. I used to be dead-set against silly acronyms and all that stuff, but then I started reading the reasoning, thought and research behind them. I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about sabermetrics. There's the whole "mom's basement" cliche that is just silly and played. At its base, the sabermetrics community is trying to better understand something they enjoy and questioning everything they know. To me, that's healthy thought -- of course, it can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, but it's still good to be out there. I don't know the math, but I enjoy the theory behind it and find it more honest than saying, "well, that's the way it's always been." There are things numbers don't tell you, but at least there's a reasoning behind it.

Re: Q. and A. with C. Trent Rosecrans

C Trent on the lineup construction debate:

Anyway, back to the lineup, I think I've been on record saying it's the most overrated and over-discussed thing in baseball. Lineup construction, and many studies will show you this, just don't really matter all that much. Naturally you want your better hitters getting more ABs, but beyond that... bleh, it's just white noise.

"Baseball is a very, very complex business. It's more of a people business than most businesses." - Bob Castellini

Re: Q. and A. with C. Trent Rosecrans

Naturally you want your better hitters getting more ABs

Makes sense to me, especially when factoring in the entire seasons worth. Of course then there are some in charge out there that gives more AB to their weaker hitters, then they complain about not getting the break or not being able to score that needed run or two. Oh well, too deep for me.

Re: Q. and A. with C. Trent Rosecrans

Naturally you want your better hitters getting more ABs

Originally Posted by Spring~Fields

Makes sense to me, especially when factoring in the entire seasons worth. Of course then there are some in charge out there that gives more AB to their weaker hitters, then they complain about not getting the break or not being able to score that needed run or two. Oh well, too deep for me.

One of the most impressive displays of cherry-picking we've seen in quite a while.

Re: Q. and A. with C. Trent Rosecrans

Originally Posted by Spring~Fields

Makes sense to me, especially when factoring in the entire seasons worth. Of course then there are some in charge out there that gives more AB to their weaker hitters, then they complain about not getting the break or not being able to score that needed run or two. Oh well, too deep for me.

That's pretty much what the entire debate is about. If all your hitters have similar ability, it doesn't matter where they hit. If they have disparate ability, the better hitters should hit earlier and the "fast guys," "defensive specialists" and pitchers should be hitting later. Squeezing every last drop of production out of one's lineup should net a team a few wins each season. I think this is one of the few ways a manager makes a difference in his team's record.

Maybe that doesn't matter if you're a second division club. But it matters a lot to one that's on the cusp.

Re: Q. and A. with C. Trent Rosecrans

Originally Posted by nate

That's pretty much what the entire debate is about. If all your hitters have similar ability, it doesn't matter where they hit. If they have disparate ability, the better hitters should hit earlier and the "fast guys," "defensive specialists" and pitchers should be hitting later. Squeezing every last drop of production out of one's lineup should net a team a few wins each season. I think this is one of the few ways a manager makes a difference in his team's record.

Maybe that doesn't matter if you're a second division club. But it matters a lot to one that's on the cusp.

Like the 2010 Reds might be.

Nate you seriously write that so much better than I ever good. I wholely agree with each letter that you have written here. Good Job!

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